NTUC LearningHub: Gearing Up for High Tech Training

Did you know that NTUC LearningHub (LHUB) is a forerunner in equipping companies and workers on the importance of workplace safety and health (WSH)?

Well, they were highlighted by Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong at a recent safety and health congress.

We catch up with LHUB’s CEO Kwek Kok Kwong on its role in making sure every worker goes home safe.

Q: What will LHUB be doing to strengthen its role in WSH training?

Kwek Kok Kwong: In the last ten years, we have built sufficient training capability in WSH to impact and help shape the WSH culture in the workforce. But our work does not stop here. Workplace safety requires continuing attention so that we, collective as a workforce, can sustain the high standards of workplace safety as a first world country.

There will be new companies formed and new workers joining the workforce, and it is our duty to induct them with the Singapore workplace safety culture. We will also take heed of PM Lee’s message about leveraging technology in workplace safety. For us in the training sector, we will do that through virtual reality, augmented reality and blended learning to make things more fun, intuitive and efficient, and create even more workplace safety champions in our workforce.

Q: E-learning and virtual learning sound interesting. Tell us more about them..

LHUB is experimenting with virtual reality training for work-at-heights courses to enable learners to appreciate the dangers and risks involved. Virtual reality is very advanced today and they can help learners assimilate a certain concept more easily in a safe yet realistic environment. LHUB is also experimenting with augmented reality to customise scenarios specific to the organisation’s work environment, for example shipyards and construction sites. That way, the trainee can be taught to identify WSH hazards using augmented reality and the scenario can be easily modified to test the trainees in different environments with varied levels of risk assessment.

Secondly, LHUB has also rolled out some e-learning curriculums for its WSH professional qualifications as well as converted one of its bizSAFE courses online as e-learning modules. This helps participants learn with greater flexibility as they can access their learning material anywhere, anytime. Thirdly, aligning to SkillsFuture Singapore’s drive to transform most of WSQ courses to have e-learning modules, LHUB also intends to expand its e-learning and virtual reality capabilities to the most popular courses that we currently offer.

Q: Which are the more popular courses?.

Our most popular courses include supervisory, managerial and WSH professional courses for Singaporeans seeking to upskill and be certified as WSH professionals, bizSAFE training for companies undergoing bizSAFE accreditation as well as other courses for critical skillsets like occupational first aid. These courses have helped the learners to take on extra roles and responsibilities at their workplaces and also allow workers from other industries to enter into the WSH sector through the WSH professional courses.